The state of Louisiana may compel its public schools to post the Ten Commandments in its classrooms.
That's the ruling of the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which vacated an injunction preventing the state from enforcing the law. Friday's decision came one month after an en banc hearing in which all of the circuit's judges heard the case.
The decision contradicts United States Supreme Court precedent set in 1980. In Stone v. Graham, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that a Kentucky law nearly identical to Louisiana's new law was unconstitutional because it lacked a "secular legislatitve purpose." That decision was the basis of the federal judge' decision to strike down the Louisiana law, calling it "unconstitutional on its face."
“Don’t kill or steal shouldn’t be controversial," Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement. "My office has issued clear guidance to our public schools on how to comply with the law, and we have created multiple examples of posters demonstrating how it can be applied constitutionally. Louisiana public schools should follow the law."
The American Civil Liberties Union, who is representing the plaintiffs in the case, says the plaintiffs are exploring all options to continue to fight the law.
"The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that it is premature to determine the constitutionality of House Bill 71, a Louisiana law requiring public schools to permanently display a government-approved, Protestant version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom," ACLU officials said in a statement. “Today’s ruling is extremely disappointing and would unnecessarily force Louisiana’s public school families into a game of constitutional whack-a-mole in every school district. Longstanding judicial precedent makes clear that our clients need not submit to the very harms they are seeking to prevent before taking legal action to protect their rights. But this fight isn’t over. We will continue fighting for the religious freedom of Louisiana’s families.”
The ACLU also noted that the Fifh Circuit left an avenue for the plaintiffs to bring the case back to court. In their decision, the Fifth Circuit judges said “nothing in today’s narrow holding prevents future as-applied challenges once the statute is implemented and a concrete factual record exists.”
Related
Related
Related
